Spring 2020 Graduate Profiles
The Honors Program staff congratulates the seniors graduating this spring with Honors distinction. We are proud of your accomplishments and wish you the best in your next adventure.
Hear them in their own words. Watch the Spring 2020 Honors Senior Reflections video.
View who's who by college:
Agriculture & Life Sciences | Business | Design | Engineering | Human Sciences | Liberal Arts & Sciences
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
Samantha Anderson
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): Genetics
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in genetic counseling
Memorable Honors experience: The FHP Retreat! Lots of bonding and smores.
Theresa Brehm
Major(s): Global Resource Systems, Environmental Science
Minor(s): Agronomy
Post-graduate plans: MS in soil science at The Ohio State University
Megan Conry
Major(s): Animal Science
Minor(s): Spanish, Biology
Post-graduate plans: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Colorado State University
Memorable Honors experience: Bagels and brew the first Tuesday of each semester!
Kylie Crystal
Major(s): Animal Ecology
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in veterinary medicine
Makenzie Dejno
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): Pharmacology and Toxicology
Post-graduate plans: Master's in Physician Assistant Studies at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Gabrielle DiRusso
Major(s): Animal Science
Alyssa Dougherty
Major(s): Dietetics, Global Resource System
Post-graduate plans: Masters of Public Health at the University of Minnesota
Memorable Honors experience: By far, my favorite memory with the Honors Program was taking the Comedy College class! Learning how to make connections through laughter is a valuable skill both socially and professionally.p>
Jacqueline Ehrlich
Major(s): Agricultural Biochemistry
Post-graduate plans: Next adventure tbd
Freya Eriksen
Major(s): Animal Ecology
Tamara Ford
Major(s): Biology
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite Honors experience was the capstone project. I was able to combine the knowledge that I had accumulated throughout my ISU experience and work with some of my favorite professors to make strives towards improving the outlook for those with genetic diseases.
Hannah Garland
Major(s): Horticulture
Post-graduate plans: MS in Agricultural Education at Iowa State University
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite memory from my time with the Honors Program was being an FHP leader for section C2. I enjoyed getting to know my students and facilitating discussions in a classroom setting. I had a lot of fun going on tours and participating in the FHP retreat
Kaela Gollob
Major(s): Environmental Science, Geology
Post-graduate plans: MS in Hydrogeology at University of Kansas
Caroline Gregg
Major(s): Animal Science
Post-graduate plans: MS in Poultry Science at Auburn University
Shayla Holland
Major(s): Animal Science (Pre-Vet), International Agriculture
Post-graduate plans: Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University
Avery Korns
Major(s): Animal Science, Animal Ecology
Caleb Larison
Major(s): Agricultural Engineering, Global Resource Systems
Blake Lineweaver
Major(s): Agronomy, International Agriculture
Memorable Honors experience: It's not a specific one, but the many lunch chats I've had in the Jischke kitchenette over the years are precious memories for me. These small, seemingly insignificant passings in Jischke and around campus are what ultimately developed my sense of community in Honors. I will always be grateful for this sincere group of folks.
Rachel Millard
Major(s): Animal Science
Minor(s): Agronomy
Zhitao Ming
Major(s): Biology
Emily O'Meara
Major(s): Dairy Science
Lauren Parker
Major(s): Agricultural Business
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite memory from Honors was the Honors Ball.
Wiriyanat Ployaram
Major(s): Biology
Samantha Reicks
Major(s): Agronomy
Minor(s): Horticulture
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Being a coleader for the FHP students prepared me for so much on my life. I had to manage my time, keep a room of people on task, and make sure everyone was having good time. I never would have gained these skills in other classroom. Thank you, ISU Honors!
Chloe Ryan
Major(s): Animal Science
Post-graduate plans: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at University of Illinois
Caroline Sabotta
Major(s): Genetics
Minor(s): German LCP
Neel Solanki
Major(s): Horticulture, Biology
Post-graduate plans: PhD in Horticulture and Agronomy at University of California, Davis
Katie Stringer
Major(s): Global Resource Systems
Memorable Honors experience: I lived in an honors cluster of Friley hall for my freshman and sophomore years. Living with like-minded people as I learned to navigate the ins and outs of college was instrumental to my success. Our hall would attend honors events, eat meals together and have movie/game nights in the den. I made many relationships with people I still consider my closest friends and memories I will never forget.
Caroline Treadwell
Major(s): Animal Science, Biology
Post-graduate plans: Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine and MS in Public Health at University of Missouri
Emma Troyer
Major(s): Biology
Post-graduate plans: Doctor of Osteopathy at A.T. Still University
Allison Wallace
Major(s): Animal Science
Post-graduate plans: Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at University of Illinois
Memorable Honors experience: I think my favorite experience was being an FHP leader. I love teaching so being an FHP leader gave me that opportunity very early on in my college career. I got to meet so many other honors students through FHP leader training as well, and then got to meet 12 incoming freshman and play a part in their first semester at Iowa State.
Natalie Wertish
Major(s): Genetics
Minor(s): Psychology
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in genetic counseling
Justin Wigdahl
Major(s): Horticulture
Minor(s): Design Studies
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Honestly, all of FHP was incredible - as a freshman and as a co-leader! Especially space crunch at the retreat, the whole retreat was great at unifying our section but it was space crunch that really helped us become good friends that semester. Also, getting to meet the 2017 F2 freshman squad for the welcome picnic and then our first 121 class was great. I had waited most of the summer to finally meet them and those moments were the start of a semester full of learning, growth, and adventure!
Elke Windschitl
Major(s): Biology
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite memory in the Honors Program is presenting my Honors project. Many of my friends came in support, and it was great to show them what I had been working so hard on.
Ivy College of Business
Julia Beswick
Major(s): Marketing and Public Relations
Grace Boeke
Major(s): Accounting
Minor(s): Agricultural Business
Memorable Honors experience: The Comedy College performances. It was such a fun two nights that it barely felt like a final project.
Emma Chizek
Major(s): Supply Chain Management, International Business
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite experience in the Honors Program was leading HON 121. It was amazing to have a break from normal coursework twice a week and just have fun teaching our first-year students. HON 121 is such a unique college experience, and it helped me meet so many incredible honors students.
Emily Hammer
Major(s): Marketing, Management
Minor(s): Leadership Studies, French, Psychology
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in industrial psychology
Memorable Honors experience: I loved my experience taking two honors seminars with Dr. Stoehr in the same semester back-to-back. They were about human trafficking and feminism in the media, so it was a great four hours every Wednesday. I learned a lot about the topics but also about myself and Dr. Stoehr became my project advisor and helped me find my passion for advocacy. I hope seminars can benefit other people they way they helped me.
Matthew Hodges
Major(s): Supply Chain Management, Management
Ananya Kaushik
Major(s): Finance
Post-graduate plans: Masters of Science in Finance at Iowa State University
Cassie Kubiak
Major(s): Accounting
Hannah Sams
Major(s): Marketing, Management
Minor(s): Statistics
Post-graduate plans: Employed
Alexander Snyder
Major(s): Finance
Minor(s): Financial Counseling and Planning
Post-graduate plans: Work as a registered investment advisor and earn Certified Financial Planner certification
Kristina Swenson
Major(s): Marketing and Management
Minor(s): Health Promotion
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Living in the Martin Starbuck North house freshman year! I loved living in an honors house and the community it created
A F M Tahsinuzzaman
Major(s): Accounting
Post-graduate plans: MS in Information Systems
Memorable Honors experience: I remember being very nervous during the Honors orientation as I kept doubting my potentials. But as soon as I saw the Honors medal in the lobby, my nervousness and doubts turned into determination and confidence as I stared at it and said, "You will be mine someday."
Brooklyn Treinen
Major(s): Supply Chain Management, Marketing
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite experience throughout the Honors Program was the opportunity to take the Comedy College seminar where we learned inside techniques to becoming a stand up comedian. Giving a stand up routine was one of the most challenging experiences that built my public speaking confidence for my future career.
Vincent Valeriano
Major(s): Marketing
Tianchen Wang
Major(s): Management Information Systems
College of Design
Mary Azelborn
Major(s): Architecture Professional Degree, Art & Design
Memorable Honors experience: Living in Anders was always a blast! I have so many great memories from my time there, but I think my favorite is the story of the oven. Some of the other members of the house spent a full year and a half building an oven out of a cabinet they stole from the dumpsters behind Black, and by the end of it, we had cookies! This is despite the fact that Anders had a kitchen with a perfectly functional oven in it. It was hilarious watching the various attempts to make it work and laughing at the failures. I met most of my closest friends while living in Anders, and that community is one of the things I'm going to miss most once I'm gone.
Caroline Fiedler
Major(s): Graphic Design
Minor(s): Advertising
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: FHP and everything about it was my favorite memory from Honors. F1 was a super fun group, and I also met a guy... I am still dating that guy almost 4 years later. But the retreat was definitely the most fun part of that first year.
Claire Kilfoyl
Major(s): Industrial Design
Post-graduate plans: Employed
Zoey Lazere
Major(s): Art & Design
Brandon Maxey
Major(s): Architecture
Minor(s): Sustainability
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Living in the honors learning community at Barton Anders (the best house!) was my favorite experience. It was great living with people I felt I could be myself around. My favorite memories with the house were all the shenanigans that would happen--smoothie drinking competitions, bread murals, and house olympics are just a few that come to mind. There was always something fun going on, and I made some great friends that year. Honorable mention: busting my face open during the FHP retreat and having to go to the ER to get some stitches. The scar I have will forever be a memory of a great five years with the Honors Program.
Alicia O'Neill
Major(s): Architecture
Minor(s): Sustainability
Emily Schuler
Major(s): Interior Design
Joanna Wachal
Major(s): Interior Design
Minor(s): History
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite experience from my time in the Honors Program at Iowa State definitely has to be the one-on-one experience that I have gotten to experience during research with a faculty member. I have enjoyed getting the opportunity to work closely with someone who focuses on an area of expertise that I am looking in to as a profession, and the relationships that have formed through this experience will be very valuable in the future!
College of Engineering
Sparsh Agarwal
Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in chemical engineering
Memorable Honors experience: I really enjoyed the seminars that were organized by the Honors Program. My favorite seminar was with Dr. Alexander Stoychev on matrices. The way he taught the seminar was just amazing. Free food definitely helped me fuel up my engineering education, too.
Jessica Bader
Major(s): Computer Engineering, World Languages & Cultures
Emalee Benkufsky
Major(s): Materials Engineering
Minor(s): Computer Science
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Looking back at my time in the Honors Program, one of my favorite memories was FHP kickoff. It was a lot of fun to meet the other honors students and enjoy a beautiful day before classes began.
Paige Boor
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Brian Caskey
Major(s): Aerospace Engineering
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Joseph Crowley
Major(s): Computer Engineering
Minor(s): Leadership Studies
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: I got the chance to be the CA of Iowa State's premier honors house, Harwood, and it was the best experience of my four years. Between countless house dinners, late night games of euchre, and a combined 90 hours of radio trivia, I had the chance to meet some of the best and brightest people I know. I'd like to give thanks to all the Harwoodians that made Lyon Hall the best place to live and learn on campus. It's all good in the wood!
Kevin Davis
Major(s): Computer Engineering
Minor(s): Cybersecurity
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite experience from the Honors Program was being involved with the First-Year Mentor Program and undergraduate research.
John Ferguson
Major(s): Software Engineering
Ryan Goluch
Major(s): Software Engineering
Minor(s): Cybersecurity
Post-graduate plans: MS in Computer Engineering at Iowa State University
Memorable Honors experience: I think my favorite experience from my time with honors would have to be FHP and getting involved with Honors during my freshman year. FHP was a great way to find a community while first starting out at Iowa State and I loved going to the different events that HSB would put on throughout the year.
AJ Hanus
Major(s): Computer Engineering
Minor(s): Leadership Studies
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Ashley Harris
Major(s): Chemical Engineer
Minor(s): Biomedical Engineering, Mandarin Chinese Language and Culture
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Chris Holloway
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
Minor(s): Sales Engineering
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Atte Kadoma
Major(s): Materials Engineering
Post-graduate plans: Ph.D. in Molecular Engineering or Materials Science; admitted at Harvard University, University of Chicago, Northwestern University
Nikita Kozak
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
Minor(s): Mathematics
Post-graduate plans: Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University
Sarah Leahy
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering
Minor(s): Mathematics
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Breuklyn Opp
Major(s): Biological Systems Engineering
Minor(s): Design Studies
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Dagney Paskach
Major(s): Industrial Engineering
Minor(s): Learning Technologies
Post-graduate plans: MS in Educational Technology at Iowa State University
Memorable Honors experience: I loved working on my honors capstone project last semester. Being able to design an interactive exhibit that will be installed for permanent display at the Science Center of Iowa (SCI) was such an awesome way to combine my interests for informal STEM education, industrial engineering, and robotics, while exploring the field of exhibit design. I remember beta testing early prototypes at SCI and getting to observe as kids would come up and learn how to program the rover purely by using the exhibit, and it was cool to see everything come together.
Tyler Pasut
Major(s): Chemical & Biological Engineering
Peyton Russell
Major(s): Biological Systems Engineering, Business Administration
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Luke Schoeberle
Major(s): Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Spanish
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite Honors memory was the presentations based on random slides. My friends and I had a great time there since people would make up the most ridiculous stories to explain the slides.
Sam Schreck
Major(s): Civil Engineering
Memorable Honors experience: All the 9:00 AM visits as an honors ambassador with prospective honors students were a blast. Sharing my college and honors experiences with those just beginning their own was incredibly worthwhile. It gave myself a sense of fulfillment to reflect on my past successes and failures in order for others to learn from them. It was also nostalgic to think of all the amazing opportunities that I couldn't have gotten anywhere else.
Dustin Schultz
Major(s): Software Engineering
Minor(s): General Business
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Honors seminar discussions with peers
Olivia Skwerski
Major(s): Civil Engineering
Memorable Honors experience: Study abroad trip to London and Liverpool for the Beatles retrospective seminar!
Laura Snyder
Major(s): Chemical Engineering
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Living in Barton Anders
Jaclyn Stiller
Major(s): Industrial Engineering
Minor(s): Biomedical Engineering, Leadership Studies
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite experience in Honors was being an FHP leader. I met so many outgoing and friendly honors students who were my fellow FHP leaders, and we all became very close through the program. By the time I was a senior, I got to watch those honors students become the leaders on campus in music, athletics, student government, engineering, and more.
Trace Tuthill
Major(s): Ag Engineering
Minor(s): Agronomy, Ag Business
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Michael Volk
Major(s): Civil Engineering
Jack Wannarka
Major(s): Civil Engineering
Evan Wieczorek
Major(s): Aerospace Engineering
Memorable Honors experience: I absolutely loved assisting with campus visits when I was an Honors Ambassador. Being able to talk about my honors experience and share it with potential ISU students was always a blast!
College of Human Sciences
Holly Appleton
Major(s): Food Science & Technology
Post-graduate plans: MS in Biomanufacturing at North Carolina State University
Memorable Honors experience: Winning the Trick-or-Treat Food Drive at the very last minute with my FHP group sophomore year is one of my favorite memories of the Honors Program.
Stephanie Bias
Major(s): Event Management
Memorable Honors experience: I absolutely loved my honors seminar on human trafficking with Dr. Alyssa Stoehr.
Claire Birchmier
Major(s): Nutritional Science
Minor(s): Pharmacology and Toxicology
Post-graduate plans: MPH in Epidemiology at University of Iowa
Ashley Friedow
Major(s): Apparel Merchandising and Design
Minor(s): General Business
Andi Luth
Major(s): Kinesiology and Health
Minor(s): Psychology
Post-graduate plans: Doctor of Physical Therapy, DPT, at Des Moines University
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite Honors experience was the First-Year Mentor Program. I was matched with Dr. Welk and continued working in the Physical Activity and Health Promotion Lab all four years at Iowa State. This opportunity allowed me to gain research experience and valuable connections.
Tammie Melton
Major(s): Apparel Merchandising and Design, Marketing
Macy Morrow
Major(s): Kinesiology & Health
Post-graduate plans: MS in Nursing at Univeristy of Minnesota
Memorable Honors experience: Participating in research and completing my Honors project.
Savannah Schultz
Major(s): Food Science & Human Nutrition
Katherine Tupper
Major(s): Kinesiology & Health
Post-graduate plans: MS in Biomedical Sciences at Iowa State
Hannah Van Roekel
Major(s): Athletic Training
Post-graduate plans: Doctor of Physical Therapy at University of Iowa
Memorable Honors experience: Living in Harwood - the best honors house - for my first two years of college
Gwynne Wright
Major(s): Kinesiology & Health
Post-graduate plans: Masters of Nursing at Johns Hopkins University
Wanfeng Xu
Major(s): Hospitality Management, Event Management
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Catherine Bappe
Major(s): Linguistics
Minor(s): Chinese Studies, Teaching English as a Second Language
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Alex Beagle
Major(s): Economics
Minor(s): Data Science
Post-graduate plans: Employed
Mark Bertolami
Major(s): Chemistry
Minor(s): Anthropology, Animal Ecology
Post-graduate plans: PhD in Chemistry at University of Washington
Jacqueline Blaum
Major(s): Physics, Computer Science
Minor(s): Astronomy, Mathematics
Post-graduate plans: PhD in Astrophysics at University of California, Berkeley
Britt Bovbjerg
Major(s): Political Science
Minor(s): Sociology
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in Public Health
Madison Davies
Major(s): Technical Communication, International Studies
Lucy Dougherty
Major(s): Economics, Political Science
Post-graduate plans: Future plans to attend law school
Josephine Dubiel
Major(s): Mathematics, Spanish
Marie Hardt
Major(s): Mathematics, Statistics
Minor(s): Music
Post-graduate plans: PhD in Statistics at Iowa State University
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite experience from my time with the Honors Program was researching graph theory with Dr. Steve Butler during the Freshman Honors Mentor Program.
Sonya Harwood
Major(s): Anthropology, Religious Studies
Minor(s): Environmental Studies
Post-graduate plans: Masters in Religious Studies at University of Alabama
Amanda Heiderscheit
Major(s): Genetics
Minor(s): Microbiology
Post-graduate plans: PhD in Immunology at University of Iowa
Ashley Hurd
Major(s): Genetics
Minor(s): Psychology
Post-graduate plans: Research Intern in the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and future plans to attend medical school
Sarah Jones
Major(s): Psychology
Minor(s): Statistics, Spanish
Post-graduate plans: Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD) at University of Kansas Medical Center
Memorable Honors experience: Taking Laurie's Jack the Ripper seminar last semester. It was so interesting and I learned so much! It was fascinating to see that you can be an expert on something like serial killers.
Erin Kamm
Major(s): Computer Science, Mathematics
Minor(s): Communication Studies
Elea Kaptain
Major(s): English, World Languages & Cultures
Alexandra Kelly
Major(s): Advertising, Psychology
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: Winning the FHP contest my Freshmen year and getting free pizza with my group. Also, seeing now that my FHP leaders are engaged!
Laura Kurr
Major(s): Biochemistry
Minor(s): Biology, Pharmacology and Toxicology
Araceli Lopez Valdivia
Major(s): Political Science, Communication Studies, International Studies
Megan Lutz
Major(s): English, Public Relations
Minor(s): Women's and Gender Studies, Technical Communication
Post-graduate plans: Employed
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite memory from my time with Honors was two of the Honors Seminars that I took (Spoken Word Poetry and Buttdials and Bootycalls). Here, I not only got the chance to learn about material not directly tied to my area of study and have such interesting conversations with my peers, but I met my friendship soulmate, Caitlin. And the shenanigans that ensued from then on? Priceless.
Abigail Mankins
Major(s): Political Science, Environmental Studies
Minor(s): Statistics, Women's and Gender Studies
Post-graduate plans: M.Ed. at Iowa State University
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite memory from Honors is co-leading Honors 121 with my best friend! We had such a good time getting to know all of our students, getting to lead a class together, and seeing our section become friends and get connected to Honors.
Natalie McClure
Major(s): Biochemistry
Margaret McGary
Major(s): History
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in Middle Eastern Studies
David McHugh
Major(s): Biology
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
MacKenzie Novotny
Major(s): French, Linguistics
Minor(s): History
Post-graduate plans: MA in Applied Linguistics/TESL at Iowa State University
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite Honors memory is living in Honors housing, which brought me my closest friends and my fiance.
Sarah Potter
Major(s): Psychology, Crimial Justice
Minor(s): Anthropology
Post-graduate plans: MS in Applied Behavior Analysis at Drake University
Memorable Honors experience: I absolutely loved taking Laurie's Jack the Ripper seminar. It was nice to have a time during the week to relax, indulge the true crime obsession, and discuss various conspiracy theories about the true culprit.
Sara Ronnkvist
Major(s): Statistics
Minor(s): Sociology
Post-graduate plans: Ph.D. in Sociology at University of Wisconsin - Madison
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite experience was being an FHP Leader. I learned a lot from the experience and had a great time!
Matthew Ryan
Major(s): Chemistry
Minor(s): Mathematics
Post-graduate plans: Ph.D. in Chemistry at University of Wisconsin - Madison
Memorable Honors experience: My favorite Honors Program experience was living in Harwood. I made all my best friends there, and we had tons of fun.
Ridley Schwartz
Major(s): Biology
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies in medical field
Yash Solanki
Major(s): Biology
Minor(s): Genetics
Post-graduate plans: Future graduate studies
Cameron Stocker
Major(s): Statistics
Minor(s): Data Science, Business
Post-graduate plans: Employed in field of study
Memorable Honors experience: The honors retreat freshman year
Courtney Tompkins
Major(s): Mathematics
Minor(s): Learning Technology
Post-graduate plans: M.Ed of Education with an emphasis in Math Education and Teacher Licensure at Iowa State University
Cassidy Wagner
Major(s): Psychology
Minor(s): Child, Adult, and Family Services
Post-graduate plans: MS in Mental Health Counseling at Drake University
John Wahlig
Major(s): Computer Science, Mathematics
Sarah Zelle
Major(s): Biochemistry, Genetics
Minor(s): Anthropology
Post-graduate plans: Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University
Memorable Honors experience: Attending the First-Year Honors retreat freshman year
